Stay fresh

ABSTRACT

The Stay Fresh appliance maintains food freshness by using a vacuum motor to remove the air from inside the interior of the unit or by the external vacuum opening for bags and containers. It uses the vacuum process and a UV light to kill all bacteria inside the unit to prevent bacteria from growing. The unit needs no refrigeration and can keep food fresher much longer and make more room for the refrigerator.

There is no federally sponsored or research or development associated with this application. There is no joint research agreement associated with this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The Stay Fresh is a new concept in maintaining food freshness without refrigeration. (2) Description of the Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 & 1.98

The art described in the drawings of the design and utility function illustrate the unique ability of the Stay Fresh to maintain food freshness without refrigeration and we did not find any conflicting art or patents in our patent search process.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Stay Fresh is an electrical appliance that maintains food freshness with no refrigeration required. It uses a vacuum system that pulls the air out the unit and uses a UV light to sterilize the unit so that bacteria does not grow inside the unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

There are 5 drawings in total that describe and illustrate the design and function of the Stay Fresh. The broken lines are a part of this patent specification and are intended to illustrate those interior views.

FIG. 1: is the front side angle view of the invention.

FIG. 2: is the front side view with the front door open.

FIG. 3: is the front interior view of the unit.

FIG. 4: is the rear internal view of the unit.

FIG. 5: is the side internal view of the unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFFERED EMBODIMENT

The broken lines are a part of this patent specification and are intended to illustrate those interior views.

FIG. 1: In illustration #1 is the main body of the unit with #2 the frame of the front door of the unit with #3 the clear glass portion of the door with thin wire as a structural support with #4 the handle of the door with #5 the de-compression button to allow the door to be opened with #6 the LED screen with #7 is the external vacuum hole sealed door with #8 the activation button for the external vacuum hole.

FIG. 2: In illustration #1 is the main body of the unit with #2 the frame of the front door of the unit with #3 the clear glass portion of the door with thin wire as a structural support with #4 the handle of the door with #5 the de-compression button to allow the door to be opened with #6 the LED or LCD screen with #7 is the external vacuum hole sealed door with #8 the activation button for the external vacuum hole with #9 the hinge for the door with #10 the clip that holds the door shut with #11 the interior of the unit with #12 the external vacuum hole with #13 the clip insert that holds the #10 clip to keep the door shut with #14 the interior view of the opening for the vacuum tube with #15 the hollow interior portion of the side that houses the vacuum tubes with #16 the interior view with the top opening for the vacuum tube with #17 the sealing strip around the front of the unit with #32 the button that activates the unit when the front door is shut.

FIG. 3: In illustration #11 the interior of the unit with #16 the screen for the opening of the vacuum tubing with #18 the motion sensor with #19 the glass to protect the UV light with #20 the UV light with #27 the clip that holds the frame for the glass that protects the UV light.

FIG. 4: In illustration #1 the main body of the unit with #15 the interior view of the hollow side that houses the vacuum tube with #18 the motion sensor with #19 the glass that protects the UV light with #20 the UV light with #21 the vacuum tube with #22 the T-connector with #23 the housing for the vacuum motor with #24 the power cord with #25 the vents to keep the vacuum motor housing cool with #26 the interior bottom hollow portion of the unit with #27 clip that holds the glass in place to protect the UV light with #30 the vacuum tube connecting to the external vacuum opening or hole.

FIG. 5: In Illustration #1 the main body of the unit with #2 the door of the unit with #4 the handle of the door with #7 the external vacuum opening or hole sealing door with #11 the interior of the unit with #18 the motion sensor with #19 the glass that protects the UV light with #20 the UV light with #21 the vacuum tube with #22 the T connector with #23 the vacuum motor housing with #24 the power cord with #26 the interior hollow portion of the unit with #27 the clip that holds the glass protector in place with #28 the programmable circuit board with #29 the rubber leg of the unit with #30 the vacuum tube connecting to the external vacuum opening or hole with #31 the vacuum tube from the vacuum motor to the T connector.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The Stay Fresh is a new concept in maintaining food freshness for a much longer period of time than is now available with any other appliances. We all use the refrigerator for keeping our bread, fruits, vegetables, meats, and more, fresh longer than sitting it out in the air at a room temperature. This has been a cornerstone in civilization to feed the populations and to keep from going to the store every day and maintaining the nutritional value to the food and so to the consumer. If we want to keep things even longer we freeze the food. However you cannot freeze fruits or vegetables like you can meats and other types of foods.

Because the refrigerator has air on the inside of it with the door closed, the air inside is reflective of the type of climate as well. In very dry climates fruits and vegetables spoil much faster even in the refrigerator because the air is the same as the climate in which a person lives. This happens because the dry climate absorbs the moisture very quickly and cause the food to spoil quickly. In a high humidity climate the same thing can happen because it allows bacteria to grow even faster in many cases.

The freezer is always the solution to longer term freshness although it is the same air inside as the refrigerator. It may be frozen but it can get a freezer burn faster in some cases and can change the texture and flavor of the food.

To combat freezer burn or to help food last longer there is a process called vacuum packing. It is used by many people but is not a widely used process because people claim it takes too long and they do not have the time. This is also another terminology for laziness. That is the reason that the Stay Fresh could become a valued appliance in everyone's home by making it simple and easy to use and create more room in the family refrigerator.

There are two main processes used in the Stay Fresh appliance. The first is the motor that creates the vacuum by pulling the air out of the interior of the unit the same way it is done now with bags and containers and in other appliances of a similar nature. The second is the UV light used to sterilize the unit so that any bacteria is killed inside the unit and with the food stuff itself. Between those two processes it makes it possible to maintain food freshness without refrigeration. Refrigeration can dry food out and change the texture of the food and freezers can do the same thing. Having truly fresh fruit and vegetables is the most desired by consumers. This is also great for meat and this process makes the meat taste much fresher than refrigeration or certainly freezing it.

The Vacuum should be a negative from 30 kPa to 40 kPa and should take less than one minute. The UV light should be a UV-B type with a 14 second dose of light to accomplish sterilization. Both of these processes have been scientifically proven through many studies. Other types of UV are UV-A and UV-C which can also be used in the same way.

The unit can be different sizes and shapes. The Stay Fresh unit has a front door with a handle on the right side similar to other products with a pressure resistant glass with wire mesh to add strength and to have a reflective sheen on the inside of the glass to make the motion sensor more efficient. The motion sensor is in place to make sure that there are no living things inside the unit when the door is closed. When there is any motion the sensor will shut the unit off and allow air inside the unit from the vacuum motor assembly. When the door is shut it activates a button which turns the unit on and the vacuum motor pulls the air with the UV light on at the same time. The vacuum motor will activate again when the pressure has gone down and will bring the negative pressure back up to the normal level.

The unit also has an external vacuum opening to use with bags and containers. There is a decompression button on the bottom right of the unit that when pressed releases the pressure so that the door can be opened and allows the sealed cover over the external opening. When the cover is placed over the opening the door is opened and closed again and the unit will re-sterilize and re-compress. The UV light has a glass cover to help protect it from damage and works with the light and its effectiveness. The motion sensor is placed just under the UV light. The vacuum tubing runs from the hollow portion on the side of the unit and one portion of the tube runs up to the ceiling of the unit and the other portion runs to the external opening. The unit is designed to be manufactured and used in a very specific way to ensure the unit accomplishes the task of maintaining food freshness without the need for refrigeration or freezing food. It also complies with all FDA safety regulations. 

What is claimed is:
 1. The Stay Fresh invention has a main body of the unit comprising of: a front door with a glass center which is made of a pressure quality with wire mesh and a reflective material that is also transparent from the outside to allow the motion sensor to operate; a front door that is made of a solid material with no separations in the inside of the door surrounding the circumference of the inside of the door to ensure a complete seal when the door is shut and in a closed position with two clips that hold the door in a closed position that press the button inward to activate the vacuum motor and the UV light and the motion sensor; a completely sealed interior where food is stored that has no separations as to not allow air inside the unit when the vacuum motor is activated and the vacuum process has started and is sealed; a UV light located in the top rear of the sealed interior protected by a glass shield from a short distance from the top to allow light to pass freely into the sealed interior and in front of the light down to the back at a 45 degree angle with a short space between the back side and the edge of the protective glass to allow the UV light to pass freely into the sealed interior on the bottom side; a motion sensor located just below the UV light to sense any movement in the unit and when motion is sensed the unit will shut off and will de-compress the sealed interior to allow air inside; an external opening on the front bottom right side of the unit with a cover that seals the opening when not in use and is lifted up to expose the opening for use with vacuum bags and containers; a button located in the front bottom right side of the unit that when pressed de-compresses the sealed interior and allows the front door to opened; a button located in the front bottom right side of the unit next to the external opening and sealing cover that when pressed activates the vacuum motor for use with vacuum bags and containers; an LED or LCD screen that tells the user when the unit is in vacuum sealing mode and in the UV light mode for sterilizing the sealed interior of the unit and when the unit is finished with the process.
 2. A vacuum motor assembly with a functionality comprising of: a two phase sealed vacuum motor located in the rear bottom right side of the main unit with openings in the casing that holds the vacuum motor in place which allows the vacuum motor move into the negative pressure phase to pull the air from the sealed interior and in the de-compression phase to allow air inside the sealed interior when the de-compression button is pressed; a vacuum motor assembly that has a vacuum tube running horizontally from the motor to a t-connector that connects a portion of the tube running vertically to the top of the sealed interior box and then running horizontally from the t-connector to the external vacuum opening.
 3. A programmable circuit board with a functionality comprising of: a programmable circuit board that is activated by the front door in a closed position then activates the vacuum motor in the first phase into a timed process to pull the air from the sealed interior of the unit and activates the UV light to begin a timed sterilization process and activates the motion sensor; a programmable circuit board that is activated by a de-compression button when pressed to activate the vacuum motor in the second phase to allow air inside the sealed interior to them allow the front door to be opened easily; a programmable circuit board that is activated by a motion sensor when motion is sensed the motion sensor activates the programmable circuit board to the vacuum motor to the second phase to de-compress the sealed interior and allow air inside the unit and allow the front door to be opened easily; a programmable circuit board that activates the vacuum motor in the first phase when a button is pressed for the external opening use to pull the air from bags and containers externally and when the sealing cover is replaced over the external opening with the door being closed or by pressing the vacuum activation button next to the external opening cover to activate the programmable circuit board to activate the main unit to its normal vacuum and sterilization process. 